Summerland Garden Design & Consulting owner Susan Tito always felt drawn to the natural world, the likely result of observing her mother, Angelina, a diehard gardener of Italian descent, care for the family property in the Pelham Bay section of the Bronx.
Susan remembers the inventive ways her mother used the plants she grew on the family’s tiny city plot —red roses taped onto a wrapped birthday gift in lieu of a bow or a sprig of lily-of-the-valley tucked inside Susan’s Communion veil, for example.
Although Susan spent most of her career in journalism and publishing, it was when she became a homeowner and raising her own children on Long Island that the same gardening bug as her mother bit her. What started as a hobby blossomed into an obsession, and she began memorizing the Latin names of plants.
She devoted her spare time to expanding her gardens. She would comb through local nurseries and voraciously scour magazines and catalogs — often piling them high on her nightstand for easy retrieval — in search of unusual or specialty offerings. She’d also ask friends, neighbors and family for divisions of cherished specimens from their properties for inclusion in her gardens.
Susan remembers the inventive ways her mother used the plants she grew on the family’s tiny city plot —red roses taped onto a wrapped birthday gift in lieu of a bow or a sprig of lily-of-the-valley tucked inside Susan’s Communion veil, for example.
Although Susan spent most of her career in journalism and publishing, it was when she became a homeowner and raising her own children on Long Island that the same gardening bug as her mother bit her. What started as a hobby blossomed into an obsession, and she began memorizing the Latin names of plants.
She devoted her spare time to expanding her gardens. She would comb through local nurseries and voraciously scour magazines and catalogs — often piling them high on her nightstand for easy retrieval — in search of unusual or specialty offerings. She’d also ask friends, neighbors and family for divisions of cherished specimens from their properties for inclusion in her gardens.
To this day, she proudly looks around her gardens and remembers with great fondness the people — many of whom are no longer alive — who gifted her their beautiful plants.
With her gardens at maximum capacity, Susan still longed to create beautiful outdoor spaces. That’s when she decided she would share her passion for plants with others. But first she needed to expand her base of knowledge. In 2012, she proved you can go home again: She enrolled in a horticulture certificate program at the New York Botanical Garden, located just a few miles from where she grew up.
After she earned a certificate in ornamental garden design, she formed Summerland Garden Design & Consulting. Through Summerland, Susan shares her knowledge with clients and helps them create the gardens of their dreams. Her business philosophy is simple: Listen to what the client wants and personalize each project. Whereas one person may require a lot of assistance in designing a space and procuring labor and materials, another may want only advice and DIY encouragement.
In her business, Susan relies on a range of sources — wholesale companies, retail establishments, mail order — and even shares plants from her own garden. She believes a client doesn’t have to spend a fortune to have a garden that looks like a million bucks.
In addition to her horticultural business, Susan educates readers through her monthly Gardenwise column in the East End Beacon, and she is a member of the American Horticultural Society and the Garden Writers Association.
With her gardens at maximum capacity, Susan still longed to create beautiful outdoor spaces. That’s when she decided she would share her passion for plants with others. But first she needed to expand her base of knowledge. In 2012, she proved you can go home again: She enrolled in a horticulture certificate program at the New York Botanical Garden, located just a few miles from where she grew up.
After she earned a certificate in ornamental garden design, she formed Summerland Garden Design & Consulting. Through Summerland, Susan shares her knowledge with clients and helps them create the gardens of their dreams. Her business philosophy is simple: Listen to what the client wants and personalize each project. Whereas one person may require a lot of assistance in designing a space and procuring labor and materials, another may want only advice and DIY encouragement.
In her business, Susan relies on a range of sources — wholesale companies, retail establishments, mail order — and even shares plants from her own garden. She believes a client doesn’t have to spend a fortune to have a garden that looks like a million bucks.
In addition to her horticultural business, Susan educates readers through her monthly Gardenwise column in the East End Beacon, and she is a member of the American Horticultural Society and the Garden Writers Association.